Teens charged in connection to Uber driver shooting in Lakewood

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JEFFERSON COUNTY — An 18-year-old and 13-year-old have been charged in connection to the shooting of an Uber driver.

District Attorney Pete Weir said Quartez Smith, 18, and a 13-year-old boy were charged with numerous felonies after they allegedly shot an Uber drive in Lakewood in June.

On June 13, Lakewood police were dispatched to a convenience store at 1110 S. Pierce Street after they received a report of shots fired in the area. They found a 38-year-old man with a gunshot wound outside the store, according to an arrest affidavit.

The man had parked his car at the gas pumps, filled it up, gone inside to pay and when he returned to his car, he found the two teens in the backseat, according to the document. The teens instructed the man to drive the car down a side street, where they robbed him of his phone and wallet and Quartez allegedly fired three shots at the driver, striking him in the back.

The driver was able to drive back to the convenience store and the clerk called 911.

While police were at the scene, they learned of an armed robbery and carjacking of a Lyft driver that had happened in Denver an hour before. According to court records, the vehicle in the Denver carjacking matched the description of the vehicle used by the suspects in the Uber case. That carjacking was also charged in this Jefferson County case, authorities said.

Quartez was charged with 15 felony counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and eight counts of violent crime. The 13-year-old was charged in the juvenile court. A petition alleging delinquency was filed accusing him of various counts of violent or aggravated offenses.

A preliminary hearing for Quartez is scheduled for Aug. 14. He is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.